Navigating the Issue of Illegal Rat-Hole Mining
On 9th February 2026, Meghalaya Chief Minister announced to constitute a judicial inquiry commission to investigate blast in an illegal rat-hole coal mine that killed 27 miners.
Understanding Rat-hole Mining
- Rat-hole mining is a primitive and hazardous method of extracting coal, primarily practiced in Meghalaya.
Types
- Side-cutting: Digging narrow tunnels into hill slopes until the coal seam is reached.
- Box-cutting: Digging a rectangular pit (at least 5 sq. meters) up to 400 feet deep. Once the coal seam is found, lateral "rat-hole" tunnels are dug in all directions.
Why is rat-hole mining prevalent in Meghalaya?
- Geological Factors: Coal seams ....
Do You Want to Read More?
Subscribe Now
To get access to detailed content
Already a Member? Login here
Take Annual Subscription and get the following Advantage
The annual members of the Civil Services Chronicle can read the monthly content of the magazine as well as the Chronicle magazine archives.
Readers can study all the material since 2018 of the Civil Services Chronicle monthly issue in the form of Chronicle magazine archives.
Society Watch
- 1 Purple Fest: Advancing Inclusivity and Empowerment of Divyangjan
- 2 IIED Food Security Index
- 3 From Awareness to Action: State-Led Efforts to End Child Marriage in India
- 4 VB-G RAM G Youth Digital Campaign
- 5 Lighting a Billion Lives 2.0
- 6 National Workshop on One Health
- 7 Levels & Trends in Child Mortality
- 8 NITI Aayog-JICA Pact: Boosting Sustainable Development in Aspirational Regions
- 9 Samriddh Gram Phygital Services Pilot Project
- 10 Centre Launches Online Registration Portal for Yuva Sangam - Phase VI
